The determined mercury concentrations revealed an important difference between the western and the eastern parts of the country. An huge anomaly in the western part is the consequence of environmental contamination due to the 500-year history of mining and ore processing in the Idrija mercury mine. It was established that, besides anthropogenic impacts, lithological and climatic characteristics that determine the type of soil also influence the distribution of mercury in soils. The data were compared to a previously conducted low-density geochemical survey (sampling density 25x25 km2) and to the regional geochemical data set (sampling density 5x5 km) supplemented by local high-density sampling data (Ljubljana, Idrija, Jesenice, Mežica, Celje, Drava valley). Higher sampling density allows the identification and characterization of anthropogenic influences on a local scale, while low-density sampling reveals some general trends in the mercury spatial distribution, but is not appropriate for identifying local contamination in industrial regions and urban areas.
COBISS.SI-ID: 2527829
The paper presents overview of physical and chemical changes to the landscape at four sites in Slovenia (Idrija, Meža Valley, Celje, Drava River alluvial plain) due to historical mining and smelting activities. A comparison with similar sites around the world in different landscapes and climates showed that major sources of contamination are the erosion of mine and ore pro-cessing wastes and atmospheric emissions of metal-containing particles from smelters. We discovered that the erosion and sediment deposition of mine and ore processing wastes is controlled by rainfall pattern and river gradient, while atmospheric emissions of metalcontaining particles from smelters are controlled by topography and the dominant wind directions
COBISS.SI-ID: 2850645